Where Can Trainers Work?

There is an amazing variety of places certified personal trainers help clients.

Gyms and private fitness studios are obvious places for certified personal trainers to work. But a recent survey of the NFPT trainer family revealed that trainers are reaching beyond the gym to find new places and new ways to help clients meet their fitness goals.

Here are nine workplaces you may have never considered.

Apartment Complexes

In groups of apartments, there’s a concentrated, diverse group of people who are already on site and eligible to participate in programs you design. The added level of convenience will be a great selling point to potential clients. You can tailor special programs and boot camps based on the needs of residents. If you already have a niche, check into apartments that cater to your target clientele like singles, those 55 and older, assisted living and more. Check with the complex’s activity director or management team to find out how you could provide your services and get on board.

Community Centers

When you provide training and fitness programs at a community center, you have an opportunity to make a positive impact on specific, diverse groups in your own community or one nearby. Centers offer consultations, group fitness classes, personal training sessions, sports, and aquatics classes for their members. You can step in to help with what the center currently provides or pitch a program you’ve designed to add to their existing offerings. Some host special events and clinics, which are perfect places to promote your services and your brand. You also may qualify for extra perks — many centers offer free or reduced membership to staff.

Online Training

Online training is not only convenient for your clients — and for you! — but your reach is boundless and you can train a potentially infinite client base. It’s gaining in popularity with large fitness companies and prominent trainers joining the streaming revolution. You’ll keep yourself competitive and benefit from the latest in fitness trends. Plus, if you record your sessions and market your work, you could continue to pull in revenue for sessions that you only had to sweat through once.

Outdoor Boot Camps

Doesn’t working in the great outdoors with minimum overhead sound wonderful? You can design your own workout plan and provide as much or as little equipment as you choose. There is infinite class space, possible advertising support from the parks department, and each person doing sit-ups on the lush, green grass is a paying client of yours. You also get the bonus of impromptu advertising: Park-goers will notice your boot camp and ask to join in!

Corporate Wellness

Working in a corporate environment can give you the ideal work hours, 9 to 5! In business settings, you could create fitness programs that may not fit in at other facilities. You could offer a Lunch and Learn series focusing on topics of interest and importance to office employees, like stress elimination, keeping them moving while seated at their desks and proper stretching techniques. You could even host a Lunch and Move series, classes that are more interactive with mild physical exertion. There’s also the potential to plan team-building boot camps and office-wide fitness challenges. Investigate the offerings at businesses big and small and tailor your pitch to their needs.

Resorts and Cruise Ships

When your clients are already on vacation, they’re in a positive state of mind, which is a great place to start getting fit. Cruise ships give you the chance to see the world, travel to beautiful and exotic places and constantly meet new people. Living aboard a cruise ship gives you the opportunity to make money and keep a good portion of those earnings as some cruise companies provide free accommodations and gourmet meals to their employees.

Resorts offer perks, too, and the same happy, relaxed clients. You can work in beautiful surroundings with sometimes free or discounted room rates, club and gym memberships and admittance to resort attractions, all while helping resort guests and staff to improve their overall fitness.

Athletic Performance Centers

If you are intense in your fitness approach and want to train clients as eager to increase their performance as you are, you might find your ideal work setting in athletic performance centers. Facilities differ but common sessions include boosting core strength, endurance, power and speed. You’ll also teach clients about injury prevention. Love a particular sport? Some centers offer programs for athletes training for the upcoming season in sports like running, basketball, soccer, hockey, volleyball, swimming, golf, tennis and more.

Client’s Home

Training a client in their own home adds a layer of convenience and comfort. You’ll set yourself apart in the market and you can target special populations who may be unable to travel. Your clients might be willing to host a small fitness party and invite a few friends, who just might become clients of yours, too.

Your Home Gym

Everyone is working from home these days and so can you. You’ll have the equipment you want and need to design your fitness programs and you save the overhead of renting a commercial space. You’ll need to check into liability insurance and investigate the local laws and regulations on home businesses to make sure you’re in compliance before you get started.

A career in personal training is rewarding and fun no matter the venue you select. Pick your spot and go for it!

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